12: These are Tlingit and Haida works of art. They arrived about 9000 years ago when glaciers receded. | Salmon was abundant and the ocean teemed with shellfish, oysters, halibut and seals. The forests provided shelter, game and berries. Such abundance allowed time for the development of a complex social system, elaborate rituals and ceremonies, and distinctive art. | Totem Bight & Alaskan Heritage Center

22: One American pilot – flying blind and guessing his way back to shore in fog over the Aleutian Islands – spotted a duck flying ahead of him in the mist. “I knew that duck wouldn’t fly into a cliff so I just got behind it and flew formation on it till we got in.” Pilots had no heat in the cockpit, other than what a plane’s engines generated. Windshields froze over and instruments often became unreliable. In sub-zero temperatures motor oil turns to molasses, rubber becomes brittle and cracks, and rivets fall out of their holes. In a few short minutes a solid, well-made aircraft could become a rattling and drafty collection of loose parts at 22,000 feet.

27: In the land of the Midnight Sun, plants get abundant sunshine for a very short growing season. Water, on the other hand, is often by irrigation. Fairbanks and Anchorage boast lovely, small botanical gardens. Interesting plants are everywhere, especially along the road.